In an ever-developing city, how can we protect our community food growing spaces? What rights do we have? How can we protect the future work of our sites? And what can we do when our site is under threat? 

Capital Growth and CPRE London have launched two new guides that focus on answering these questions and give practical guidance on using designations to protect food growing sites. Alongside these first-of-their-kind guides is an interactive webinar on Wednesday 15 November where you can ask questions and share your own experiences.

Protecting food growing spaces: two new guides

The first guide, Protecting a food growing site for the future, focuses on the preventative measures you can take. It covers two main ways you can protect your food growing space:

• Designate it as a protected area
• Monitor threats

Download the guide on protecting a site here

The second guide, Saving a food growing site that is under threat, helps communities respond if they are already at risk of losing access to their food growing site, due to a planning application being submitted for the land. It provides a range of actions that fall under two categories:

• Planning & legal
• Political campaigning

Download the guide on saving a site under threat here

Protecting food growing sites: interactive webinar

Although these guides are written with community garden members in mind, protective designations and planning regulations are complicated topics. To fully explore these guides and listen to experts on the topic, join Capital Growth and CPRE London for a webinar on protective designations for food growing spaces on Wednesday 15 November, 2.30 - 4 pm

We will be chatting with CPRE London Campaigns Officer, John Sadler, Sustain’s Planning Adviser, Gillian Morgan, and Chair of St Quintin and Woodlands Neighbourhood Forum, Henry Peterson, about what protective designations are, different ones that exist and how they can apply to food growing sites.

Register to join the webinar here

More about Growing for Change 

These guides were developed as part of our Growing for Change campaign, funded by City Bridge Trust, to support gardens in building community, climate and nature resilience. They follow on from our Growing for Change handbook, co-produced with over 20 community food gardens across the city, which highlights the growers and community gardens doing great work on key Growing for Change themes such as biodiversity, soil health, efficient water use and increasing protection for food growing spaces.  

Download our Growing for Change handbook to read about the established Change Core Values & Guiding Principles and use our self-assessment tool to help guide your garden in building community, climate and nature resilience. Join other Capital Growth member spaces in making the Growing for Change Pledge via your member dashboard today! 

Not a member of Capital Growth? Join the network for free in minutes and make the most of our member perks (including 50% off all our training tickets!) 

06/11/2023